Machine for washing and treating with finishing agents yarns of natural, artificial and synthetic fibers wound on a reel

ABSTRACT

A machine for washing and/or applying finishing agents onto yarns in form of skeins, which prevents any type of friction to the yarn fibers. The machine substantially comprises one or more cells in each of which is rotatably mounted at least one reel on which the skeins of yarns are disposed. At the upper part of each cell a row of nozzles is provided for spraying the washing or treatment liquid and a longitudinal slot for blowing an air flow drying the yarns. Each reel comprises a number of spokes one half of which are movable and alternately disposed between two adjacent stationary spokes on which are pivotedly and resiliently mounted. An example of a complete treatment cycle of the machine is also given.

United States Patent Garzotto [54] MACHINE FOR WASHING AND TREATING WITH FINISHING AGENTS YARNS OF NATURAL, ARTIFICIAL AND SYNTHETIC FIBERS WOUND ON A REEL Inventor: Felice Garzotto, Valdagno, Italy Rimar S.p.A., Trissina (Vicenza), Italy Filed: Jan. 22, 1971 Appl. No; 108,861

Assignee:

Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 19, 1970 Italy ..20818A/70 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Wyser ..68/205 R 1 51 Oct. 17, 1972 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Primary Examiner-William l. Price Attorney-Brooks, Haidt & Haffner [57] ABSTRACT A machine for washing and/or applying finishing agents onto yarns in form of skeins, which prevents any type of friction to the yarn fibers. The machine substantially comprises one or more cells in each of which is rotatably mounted at least one reel on which the skeins of yarns are disposed. At the upper part of each cell a row of nozzles is provided for spraying the washing or treatment liquid and a longitudinal slot for blowing an air flow drying the yarns. Each reel comprises a number of spokes one half of which are movable and alternately disposed between two adjacent stationary spokes on which are pivotedly and resiliently mounted. An example of a complete treatment cycle of the machine is also given.

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1 MACHINE FOR WASHING AND TREATING WITH FINISHING AGENTS YARNS OF NATURAL,

ARTIFICIAL AND SYNTHETIC FIBERS WOUND ON A REEL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a machine for washing and/or applying one or more finishing agents onto yarns of natural, artificial or synthetic fibers, and more generally to a machine for applying any treatment whatsoever to which said yarns have to be subjected in the form of skeins.

2. Description of the Prior Art At present there are known systems and apparatus for washing and dyeing the aforesaid yarns in water, as well as systems for washing and treating same in an organic solvent. So far, however, all the machines which are on the market for washing in a solvent and treating with finishing agents, in particular with such finishing agents as are either soluble or dispersible in chlorinated organic solvents, involve a number of drawbacks making said applications on yarns not advisable on an industrial scale. Said drawbacks reveal themselves by a general deterioration in the aspect and quality of the yarn, e.g., in the form of a substantial matting, which involves a shrinking of the yarn and consequently the entanglement of the filaments, the formation of considerables hairiness and a non-homogeneous application of the finishing agent.

In order to avoid altering the characteristics of the yarns, a process for washing the yarns with a solvent and applying finishing agents onto same has been studied and developed, which is disclosed in the Italian Patent No. 859,204 in the name of the same assignee. Said process which is praticable in drum machines such as those usually employed for dry cleaning, achieves acceptable results as far as the homogeneous distribution of the finishing agents and the aspect and quality of the treated yarn are concerned, provided that welldetermined rotation cycles, times and rotation speeds of the drum are complied with rather rigorously in order to avoid the danger of altering the fibers composing the yarn. Furthermore, the types of fiber which can be washed and/or treated in said machine are critical and, for example, it is not possible to use this type of machine for synthetic fibers, if not with irreparable deteriorations of the fibers. It is possible, moreover, to mount on the usual dry cleaning machines a reel associated with the common container, on which the skeins of the yarn are wound, so as to reduce the fiberto-fiber friction. Said solution however does not completely solve the problem of the friction to which the fibers are subjected in the bath, with the consequent drawbacks consisting in the formation of hairiness, the deterioration of the hand characteristics, etc. Other drawbacks are, e.g., the high values of the so-called bath ratios, which involve excessive solvent consumption, the arduous operation of connecting the reel to the container of the machine, the fixed centrifuging speed and also the limitation in the types of fiber (natural or artificial, count value etc.).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION There has now been found and is the object of the present invention a new type of machine for washing and performing any treatment on the yarns, either with a solvent or water, which does not involve the aforesaid drawbacks and makes it possible to obtain a product having excellent characteristics as far as its outward appearance, its hand" and homogeneity of treatment are concerned, in a wide range of processing rates and times, for any types of fibers and with very low bath rations.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine which prevents any type of friction for the yarn to be either washed or generally treated. In particular, the skeins of yarn are arranged around a reel with respect to which they stand still during the rotation thereof. As a consequence there occurs no fiberto-fiber friction, moreover any friction between the fibers and the side-walls of the drum in the case of rotating drum machines, and any friction between the fibers and the solvent in the case of a bath treatment being avoided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other objects, characteristics and advantages of the machine according to the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the machine, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of one embodiment of the machine according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-section view along line 1111 ofFIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the machine of FIG. I, illustrating in particular the circuit of the washing and tre ating liquids; and

FIG. 4 is a front view of a reel according to the present invention.

' DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT It should be appreciated that a machine according to the present invention may consist of any number of elementary machines or cells, wherein one reel such as that shown in FIG. 4 or two or more reels reciprocally integral, as shown in FIG. 2, are rotating. The embodiment of the machine illustrated in the drawings and described hereinafter only by way of example consists, as it is better shown in FIG. 1, of four elementary cells divided into two pairs separated the one from the other. and provided each, on its axis, with two integral reels (FIG. 2).

With reference to FIG. 1, there is shown a frontview of the above-mentioned type of machine having four cells with two reels each, wherein 1 indicates the frame acting as a carrying structure and housing, and 2 the loading doors provided with a small glass window in the form of a porthole for inside inspection, 3 the control panel and 4 the fan for circulating hot air for drying purposes.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of the machine along the line 11-11, i.e., along a meridian plane of one of the four cells composing the machine.

5 and 5' indicate the two reels mounted on the same driving shaft 6 and consisting respectively of a tubular axis 7 and 7' and a certain number of spokes 8,8, which are alternatively one stationary and one movable pivoting around a fulcrum which is integral with the adjacent stationary spoke. Each spoke 8, 8' consists of two substantially radial parts, 9, 9' respectively and a longitudinal rod 10, 10' which is parallel to the tubular central axis 7, 7. The reels 8 and 8' are provided with suitable male or female joints, so as to be made integral with the shaft 6 and each other after they are introduced into the machine for loading the skeins of yarn to be Washed and/or treated. The inner side of the door 2 has a tubular sleeve housing 11 adapted to support, during the rotation, the outer ends of the shaft 6 and of the axis 7 of the reel 5 which are engaged within said sleeve 11 when closing the door 2.

FIG. 3 represents the pipes which form the circuit of washing liquid and the solution containing the desired finishing agents. From the tank 12, the solvent is conveyed by means of the pump 13 and through the valve 14 and the pipe 15 to the nozzles 16 aligned along the pipe 17 located in the upper part of the cell wherein the reels 5 and 5 rotate. The bottom of each cell or chamber is provided with a hole for draining the liquid falling after having soaked the skeins of yarn (see FIG. 2), which hole is connected to a pipe 18 for recycling the liquid.

In the upper part of the machine, the fan 4 blows an air flow through a slot (not shown in the drawings) provided along the cell wall parallely to the row of nozzles 16 in the pipe 17, so as to send onto the skeins arranged around the reels 5 and 5' an air flow to dry them. The air circulated by the fan 4 may, if so desired, be heated around a system of steam-heated finned tubes or by any other heat source, so that the article be better dried. In the upper part of the machine, a condenser is also arranged, which through a cooling system causes the condensation of the organic solvent vapors dragged during the drying stage, which are then recovered and conveyed into the tank 12 containing the solvent. Suitable valves 14 and 14' controlled by a program depending on the washing and/or treating cycle, to which the yarns are intended to be subjected, cause the machine to be fed with liquid from either tank 12 or 12a, depending respectively on whether only the washing or also the finishing treatment is required to be effected, tank 12a containing the solution of finishing agents. Furthermore, valves 16a, 16'a determine the path which the washing or finishing liquid has to follow, so that the liquid coming from the machine is recycled immediately without passing through its respective tank whereinto it will be conveyed only once the operation is completed. This especially in order to avoid the formation of excessive foam, particularly in the case of the solution of finishing agents, which have a certain foaming capacity.

FIG. 4 gives an example of an embodiment of a reel for a machine according to the present invention. The reel shown in FIG. 4 has three stationary and three movable spokes and has obtained particularly satisfactory results, but it might have any number of spokes, with a minimum of two stationary ones alternated with two movable ones. As shown in FIG. 4, the movable spokes are pivoted around fulcra 20 on the stationary spokes with respect to which they are allowed to rotate. Each movable spoke is moreover connected in a given point 21 to one end of a spring 22 having its other end integral with the stationary spoke and consequently with the central core of the reel. It has been found that the presence of movable spokes provided with a spring is necessary so that they may adapt themselves to the unavoidable elongation of the fibers when these are wetted and to their shrinking when they are dried.

When these movable spokes are employed, with conveniently dimensioned springs, the skeins are always under tension on the reel, which automatically adjusts its diameter to that of the skein both in the variations of length due to the successive wettings and dryings of the yarn and at the different rotation rates required by the processes to which the article is subjected. It should be noticed moreover that the movable spokes are not exactly radial but have a tangential component of a determined entity, which still more hampers the possible sliding of the skeins over the reel, when the latter is caused to rotate in the sense opposite to the aforesaid tangential component. This is always possible inasmuch as the reels are always rotated in the same sense for any treatment of the yarns, without the continuous reversals of motion which occur in rotating drum machines. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the movable spokes may be completely closed by pushing them until they rest on the adjacent stationary spokes, thus permitting to quickly and easily load and unload the skeins.

The motor 23 is connected to a continuous speed variator, from zero to 1,000 rpm, which makes it possible to use the most preferred speeds in the various phases of washing, treating, centrifuging and drying, and moreover to gradually move the reels during the centrifuging stage, thus avoiding that a sudden change in speed might cause the skeins to slide on the reel.

For example, the following rotation speeds of the reel and durations of the various treating stages may be obtained by the aforesaid speed variator, which could be previously programmed if so desired, according to the type of process to be carried out:

Non-shrinking treatment At first, a pre-washing phase takes place at a rate of 15 rpm for a period of 120 seconds, followed by a centrifuging phase at 400 rpm, reached gradually, for a period of seconds. Subsequently, the finishing treatment is carried out at a rate of 15 rpm for seconds, then a second centrifugation at 400 rpm for 40 seconds and finally the drying phase at 15 rpm for 10 minutes. Oiland water-repellency treatment (anti-stain).

Also this treatment includes a first pre-washing phase at a rate of 15 rpm for a period of 120 seconds, followed by a centrifuging phase at 1,000 rpm reached gradually during a period of 60 seconds. The treatment with the finishing agent takes place at 15 rpm for seconds, then the centrifugation at 800 rpm reached gradually, for 60 seconds and finally the drying phase at 15 rpm for 8 minutes.

Of course, the average values mentioned hereinabove are merely orientative and are reported only for the purpose of giving an idea about the usual ranges of the rates and durations of the various treatment steps, to show the desirable performances of the speed variator employed. It is to be understood that, depending on the types of yarns, it is possible to have other values than those mentioned either hereinabove or in the following example.

EXAMPLE A woolen yarn having a fineness of 58 S, a count of 2/24, 330 single twists and 200 double twists, is subjected to an oiland water-repellency test using a dispersion of a polymer having perfluorinated chains. Said dispersion was prepared by dispersing in trichloroethylene an aqueous emulsion Zepel B produced by Du Pont de Nemours. The concentration of the dispersed phase in the treating bath was 0.15 percent by weight. The yarn, which weighted about 40 kg, was first pre-washed with eight times as much trichloroethylene. During the pre-washing phase, the reel was caused to rotate at a rate of rpm for a period of 120 seconds, whereafter the yarn was centrifuged in order to be separated from the solvent, at a rate of 1,000 rpm for a time of 60 seconds. Said speed was reached gradually by acting upon the speed variator. Subsequently, the dispersed finishing agents was sprayed onto the skeins of yarn while the reel was caused to rotate at 15 rpm for 150 seconds. A centrifuging phase followed at 800 rpm reached gradually by the speed variator, for about 60 seconds; finally, during the drying stage, the reel was caused to rotate at a rate of 15 rpm for 8 minutes.

At the end of the treatment, the yarn showed an oilrepellency corresponding to 8 according to the Du Pont scale and a water-repellency corresponding to 100 according to the Spray Rate Test determined on a knitted article manufactured with the treated yarn. These results were achieved without the yarn showing any felting, tearing, damage, hairiness or any other drawback as mentioned hereinabove.

It must be observed that the machine according to the present invention herein described may be also provided with a de-odorizing system for eliminating the last traces of solvent, which may optionally be recovered by a system of activated carbon filters. Moreover, this machine also makes it possible to condition the yarns in the form of skeins by keeping them for a well-determined period of time at a preestablished moisture, without noticing any felting, since the skein stands practically still with respect to the reel and does not present any friction point, which is not possible with any other type of machine.

It is to be understood that additions and/or modifications may be contributed by those skilled in the art to the embodiment described hereinabove and illustrated by way of non-limiting example of the present invention, without exceeding the scope thereof. In particular, the number of elementary cells, their relative positions and the number of reels of each cell may be varied.

Whatl claim is:

1. A machine for washing and/or treating with finishing agents yarns of natural, artificial or synthetic fibers, comprising at least one elementary cell; driving and supporting means within said cell for rotating at least one reel having a variable diameter and at least four spokes, one half of said spokes being movable and connected through a spring to the stationary part of the reel and arranged alternately with respect to the stationary spokes; spraying means within each of the aforesaid cells for spraying the washing or finishing liquid; means adapted to generate an airflow penetrating into each of said cells; means for draining the a oresaid liquid and recycling same; and two separated tanks, one of which for storing the washing liquid and one for storing the solution employed in the finishing treatment.

2. The machine according to claim 1, wherein said springs of movable spokes of the reels are so dimensioned to adapt themselves to any variations in length of the yarn skeins located around the reels, whereby said skeins stand still with respect to their support and are frictionless.

3. The machine according to claim 1, wherein said driving means consists of an electric motor and a continuous speed-variator.

4. The machine according to claim 1, further comprising a system of valves for pre-arranging the recycle and recovery paths of the various processing liquids.

5. The machine according to claim 1, wherein said spraying means comprises a plurality of nozzles provided in a longitudinal conduct placed at the upper part of the inner wall of each of said cells.

6. The machine according to claim 1, wherein said supporting means comprises a tubular sleeve on the inner side of the loading door of each of said cells, for supporting the outer ends of the shaft driving the reels and the axis of the outer reel. 

1. A machine for washing and/or treating with finishing agents yarns of natural, artificial or synthetic fibers, comprising at least one elementary cell; driving and supporting means within said cell for rotating at least one reel having a variable diameter and at least four spokes, one half of said spokes being movable and connected through a spring to the stationary part of the reel and arranged alternately with respect to the stationary spokes; spraying means within each of the aforesaid cells for spraying the washing or finishing liquid; means adapted to generate an air-flow penetrating into each of said cells; means for draining the aforesaid liquid and recycling same; and two separated tanks, one of which for storing the washing liquid and one for storing the solution employed in the finishing treatment.
 2. The machine according to claim 1, wherein said springs of movable spokes of the reels are so dimensioned to adapt themselves to any variations in length of the yarn skeins located around the reels, whereby said skeins stand still with respect to their support and are frictionless.
 3. The machine according to claim 1, wherein said driving means consists of an electric motor and a continuous speed-variator.
 4. The machine according to claim 1, further comprising a system of valves for pre-arranging the recycle and recovery paths of the various processing liquids.
 5. The machine according to claim 1, wherein said spraying means comprises a plurality of nozzles provided in a longitudinal conduct placed at the upper part of the inner wall of each of said cells.
 6. The machine according to claim 1, wherein said supporting means comprises a tubular sleeve on the inner side of the loading door of each of said cells, for supporting the outer ends of the shaft driving the reels and the axis of the outer reel. 